{"product_id":"virginia-map-1845-state-print-richmond-norfolk-alexandria","title":"Virginia Map 1845 State Print - Richmond, Norfolk, Alexandria","description":"\u003cp\u003eSidney Morse and Samuel Breese, working in New York, published this map of Virginia in 1845 as part of Morse's North American Atlas, issued by Harper \u0026amp; Brothers across nine illustrated parts sold for twenty-five cents apiece. Morse and Breese pioneered the cerographic wax-engraving process used to print the map, a technique cheaper than copper-plate engraving that let Harper's price the atlas within reach of ordinary households, and this sheet records Virginia in its full pre-Civil War extent, spanning territory that would split away as West Virginia nearly two decades later. Virginia is shown here as the most populous state in the entire South, its tidewater and piedmont counties long settled while its mountainous western reaches remained comparatively sparse.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eRichmond anchors the map as the state capital, a James River city whose role as seat of government dated back to the colonial era and had only grown in importance after the Revolution. The Shenandoah Valley threads through the state's interior, a fertile agricultural corridor distinct in character from the tobacco plantations of the tidewater further east. Railroads and canals radiate from Richmond toward both the coast and the mountains, among the more developed transportation networks shown anywhere in this atlas. Together the capital, the valley, and the developing rail network describe a state whose eastern and western halves were, even then, following noticeably different paths.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA Virginia family with roots in either the tidewater plantation country or the Shenandoah Valley will recognize this sheet's world directly, and it suits a collector drawn to the fact that it shows the state whole, nearly two decades before West Virginia split away. The store also carries Virginia paired with West Virginia in Cram's 1878 edition, drawn after that 1863 split had permanently divided the territory shown here as one state; this 1845 Morse sheet is the earliest Virginia map in the collection. It's printed unframed and available in a range of sizes to fit whatever wall it's headed for.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"TheMapVault","offers":[{"title":"16x20 inch - UNFRAMED","offer_id":58514759123275,"sku":"1501-16x20","price":25.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"A2 (42x60cm) - UNFRAMED","offer_id":58514759156043,"sku":"1501-A2","price":25.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"18x24 inch - UNFRAMED","offer_id":58514759188811,"sku":"1501-18x24","price":25.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"50x70 cm - UNFRAMED","offer_id":58514759221579,"sku":"1501-50x70","price":30.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"A1 (60x84cm) - UNFRAMED","offer_id":58514759254347,"sku":"1501-A1","price":40.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"24x32 inch - UNFRAMED","offer_id":58514759287115,"sku":"1501-24x32","price":40.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"70x100 cm - UNFRAMED","offer_id":58514759319883,"sku":"1501-70x100","price":50.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"75x100 cm - UNFRAMED","offer_id":58514759352651,"sku":"1501-75x100","price":50.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"A0 (84x119cm) - UNFRAMED","offer_id":58514759385419,"sku":"1501-A0","price":55.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0907\/2456\/5323\/files\/SKU1501.jpg?v=1789683745","url":"https:\/\/www.themapvault.com\/products\/virginia-map-1845-state-print-richmond-norfolk-alexandria","provider":"TheMapVault","version":"1.0","type":"link"}